Tim Van Patten has made his name as one of today's biggest TV directors. After a career as an actor, he began helming episodes of different series in 1992, and went on to be a big name over at HBO, working on shows like The Wire, The Sopranos, The Pacific, Game of Thrones, Deadwood, Rome and Sex in the City and, most recently, Boardwalk Empire. After 20 years in the game, however, it would seem he's finally ready for the big screen.

According to Variety, Van Patten is now in talks with Disney to direct The Finest Hours, a new drama based on the book by Casey Sherman and Michael Tougias. Set in 1952, the story follows members of the Coast Guard as they work to rescue 84 men who have found themselves in peril after two oil tankers collided during the middle of a blizzard. Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson, who are best known for writing David O. Russell's Oscar-winning sports drama The Fighter, have been brought on board to write the script.

The movie will be Van Patten's feature directorial debut, following in the footsteps of Alan Taylor, who also directed episodes of Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire and Bored To Death and is currently in production on Marvel Studios' Thor: The Dark World. The Finest Hours is being produced by Jim Whitaker and Dorothy Aufiero, who recently helped the studio make The Odd Life of Timothy Green with Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Garner.

Disney picked up the rights to the book last year, paying somewhere near seven figures. The trade doesn't say when the movie will go into production.